


(untitled)

by cherryjaem



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: I suffered writing this, M/M, cause i only had 30 days to write this and i'm bad with deadlines, idk what this is, rushed ending, whatever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2018-11-30
Packaged: 2019-09-02 15:23:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16789624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherryjaem/pseuds/cherryjaem
Summary: Changbin sets his friends up and they're not happy about it.





	(untitled)

**Author's Note:**

> so. don't expect too much from this fic lol. this is a mini fic challenge my friends and i were doing. basically, we get assigned to pairings and prompt by random, using an online generator, and we had to write at least 5k words in a month and this is pretty much what i managed to write in that given time frame lmao. i don't like this fic and some of you may end up hating it too, which is understandable hahah. i didn't have time to re-write the fic so this will do i guess orz
> 
> i got changbin/minho for the first round and then changbin/jisung on the second round. i had two options to choose from but opted to write both because why not (i shouldn't have....lmao)
> 
> ANYWAY. if you've decided to read this anyway, i hope you survive the horrible writing haha.

  


1.

Changbin had always wanted to leave, to go to new places and explore opportunities outside the comfort of the neighborhood he grew up in, so when the offer comes in the form of an acceptance letter to study in one of the best universities in Seoul, Changbin wasted no time in packing his things so he could leave for good.

The supposedly hard and messy part of packing is surprisingly smooth and easy for Changbin. He packs only necessities with him and throws away stuff he no longer needs. What’s hard is leaving the people behind- leaving Jisung behind, to be precise. Changbin had known Jisung since he was a baby and they have been friends and neighbors for all of their lives that it would be weird waking up one morning and having to go through his days without seeing Jisung.

“I can’t believe you’re leaving me.” There’s a pout in Jisung’s voice. Despite everything, Changbin rolls his eyes at this as he pushes the last of his boxes into the backseat and closes the door shut.

“Stop being dramatic,” he says.

“You’re off to somewhere really far away…”

“I’m off to college. In _Seoul_. Not even 2 hours away by train from here,” Changbin deadpans. “It’s not that far.”

“Listen here, mister Seo. If I can’t climb up your window and into your bed at night, can’t ring the doorbell next door and run up barging into your room whenever I want to, can’t reach for your hand into mine then yes, that _is_ far to me.” Changbin softens at this. He won’t admit it out loud, but he’ll miss this. He’ll miss Jisung and his overdramatic ass, and just being around Jisung in general. As much as Jisung annoys him sometimes, Changbin loves his friend more than he cares to admit. Jisung is the only constant thing in his life, the steady ground that keeps Changbin on his feet. Although Changbin is excited to start a new chapter in his life, he can’t imagine how it would be like without Jisung. Granted, he’s not leaving forever, but so many things could change after this. “What am I going to do without you?”

“Well, for starters, you can do normal things normal 18 year olds do. You can go hang out with Hyunjin and Felix and Seungmin, for example,” Changbin suggests, draping his arm around Jisung’s shoulders.

“Ughh. Those demons?”

“Aren’t you one of them too?”

“Excuse me, I’m an _angel_.” Jisung sighs. “They’re cool I guess, but they’re not you.”

“You can call me anytime. No guarantee I will pick up though,” Changbin adds jokingly. When Jisung only pouts, Changbin pulls the younger guy into a hug. “I’ll call too. And you can visit me whenever. I’ll show you around town.”

“Are you even familiar with the streets and places in Seoul?” Jisung snorts, but Changbin feels him smiling against his shoulder, feels Jisung’s arms wrapping around Changbin’s waist.

“We’ll probably get lost,” Changbin shrugs. “But it’ll be quite an adventure.”

“Sounds fun, though.”

“It does,” Changbin agrees. Silence then falls around them so they just hold each other like that for a while, only parting when Jisung’s brother pulls him apart by force so Changbin could get in the car and drive to his new dorm before the day turns late.

Changbin drives off with a heavy heart. Changbin sees the tears trickling down Jisung’s cheek and if Jisung sees the unshed tears in Changbin’s eyes as well, neither of them talks about it.

2.

Changbin is at the welcoming party for freshmen when he sees _him._

_Pretty_ , is the first thing that comes into Changbin’s mind. It’s dark outside in the park 2 miles off-campus ground, the place only illuminated by the fire pits light up in several barrels. The guy is standing by one of the fire pits on the left, attentive eyes at the person talking beside him, lips slightly curled upwards before he breaks into a laugh.

Even his laugh is pretty, Changbin decides and finds himself walking nearer to the guy. He stands about an arm away from him, chugging on his drink as he watches the fire and listens to the guy talk. He doesn’t care about the contents of the talk, only focusing on the way his voice sounds. Such music to his ears.

“What are you majoring in?” the voice asks after a while. It takes Changbin 9 seconds to realize the guy is talking to _him_ now, almost choking on his drink when he confirms this by meeting eyes with the guy. The guy raises his eyebrows in amusement, a tiny glint of worry in his eyes. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Changbin manages to answer after swallowing his drink. “Sorry, I thought you were talking to someone else.”

“Well, it’s just the two of us here, isn’t it?”

Indeed, there is only the two of them left standing near this fire pit. The guy smiles and God, Changbin doesn’t mean to stare so much but the way the guy smile is so mesmerizing, the light from the fire makes his eye glint beautifully and makes the shadows of his eyelashes look even longer than they already are. His black hair is even darker than the night, but it looks so fluffy Changbin has to resist petting his hand on them by shoving his free hand into the pocket of his jacket. “I’m a dance major.”

Changbin replies with a dumb “Huh?”, eyes flicking back up to meet with the guy’s and only then does Changbin realizes he’d been staring at the guy’s lips. He feels his cheeks turning pink but hopes to god it doesn’t show too much.

“I’m a dance major,” the guy tries again with a chuckle. Belatedly, Changbin realizes the guy had been asking him a question and Changbin had yet to answer it. This only makes his face flushed even more.

“Oh. I’m doing music production,” Changbin answers. The guy’s eyes light up with excitement at this information, turning his whole body around to face Changbin. Changbin can’t help but to notice the slight height difference between them both. Not that he minds, or cares or whatever. Totally not self-conscious at all. Nope.

“That’s cool! I have a friend who’s in music production, too,” he says. Somehow, conversations flow easy from there, and Changbin even manages to make the guy laugh every now and then (he’s proud of being able to elicit such reactions from the guy). From their conversations, Changbin finds out the guy is a year older than Changbin and is actually in his second year of university life. His friend is also one of those people who organized the party, something about him wanting the freshmen to feel welcomed and for people to mingle and make friends in this new place.

“Chan is always like that,” the guy ends his talk with a fond smile and a light shake of his head. “If possible, he’d want to take care of everyone. Adopt them, maybe. Especially students from abroad.”

“He sounds like a cool guy,” Changbin comments.

“He is.”

“Okay, don’t take this the wrong way. I’m not being nosy. I’m just curious is all. Is Chan really just a friend?” Changbin can’t help asking. Throughout their conversation, Chan’s name kept on popping up here and there and there’s just something in the way the guy talks about Chan that makes Changbin wonder if they are truly just friends, or more than that.

“Of course he is just a friend! God, I can’t- I don’t even want to imagine being more…!” Changbin watches the guy’s face contort with something akin to disgust, his body giving out involuntary shudders. “He’s just a friend. Almost like a brother to me. Chan and I together? Oh my god. That’s incest.”

Changbin lets the laughter bubble up his throat, a strange feeling of relief spreading in his chest. He doesn’t want to think about what this could mean, so he simply doesn’t.

The guy is laughing now too, tickled by Changbin’s laughter. Changbin only laughs harder when he realizes they’ve been talking for a while now but neither of them knows each other’s name yet. Instead of asking the guy for his name though, Changbin says: “You remind me so much of a friend back home.”

“A good-looking friend then, I hope,” he says, laughter fading into an amused smile, eyes glinting with equal amount of curiosity and mischief.

“Well, not in that department, particularly. Jisung is cute but his looks got nothing on you. I think both of you would make great friends with each other, though.”

“Really? Is he good friends with you?”

“Definitely.”

“Then we’ll be good friends too, don't you think?”

“Maybe.”

A grin and finally a: “I’m Minho.”

“Changbin.”

3.

“How’s college? Bet it’s boring without me, huh? See! I told you to stay but did you listen? No. tsk.”

“It’s pretty good, actually,” Changbin clips the phone in between his ear and shoulder, fingers busy typing an assignment that is due to be submitted at 2 in the afternoon the next day. “Hectic, but that’s how I like it. No time to think about other things, you know?”

“Not even about me?” Jisung’s voice raises an octave higher. Changbin’s lips form into a grin upon hearing this. Of course there’s not a day gone by without Changbin thinking about Jisung. In fact, Jisung is always there in his mind. He sees Jisung in the faces in the sea of strangers on campus ground, sees Jisung’s smile in the clouds when his eyes drift up to the sky above of him, thinks of Jisung when he eats cheesecake from the cafeteria, reminded of Jisung when he’s spending time with Minho, and so on.

“I-” Changbin starts, but pauses midway when his phone pings. “Hold on,” he says, quickly pulling his phone away to see the notification. It’s a text from Minho asking if Changbin would want to get dinner together. He figures he’ll just reply Minho after he hangs up the call with Jisung later.

“So?” Jisung prods impatiently. “Did you really not have any time to even think about me?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“That doesn’t answer my question!”

Changbin stops working on his assignment, leaning his back against the chair and one arm propping the other arm’s elbow up so he could have a comfortable position holding the phone against his ear. “So, I met someone,” Changbin easily ignores Jisung. He wants to tell Jisung about his new friend, Minho- whose smile and laughter and witty remarks and sense of humor match well with Jisung’s. They’re so similar in so many ways that sometimes it’s easy to think they’re the same person, except they’re not. Changbin really think they would go along well with each other, so tells Jisung this.

Jisung is quiet on the other end of the line, occasionally replying with _oh_ s and _mhmm_ s and _really_?

“Yup. When are you coming to Seoul? I’ll introduce you guys.”

“I don’t know,” comes Jisung’s mumbled response, so unenthusiastic that Changbin finally catches on the change of mood.

“Yo, you okay?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Changbin listens to the silence settling in between them, unsure of what to say to replace the sudden tension. “Binnie, you said you’d call me,” Jisung breaks the silence, his voice so tiny and sad. Changbin feels bad and guilty instantly.

“I’m sorry,” Changbin quickly apologizes. He did say he would call but he’d been so busy and swamped with assignments that he and Jisung had only been texting, and not even by a lot. “I truly have been busy with stuff. How are you? How are things back home?” “Jisung?” Changbin calls when Jisung doesn’t answer for a very long time.

“Yeah, I’m okay. Everything is okay,” Jisung says. Changbin is about to say more but Jisung beats him to it. “I gotta go. Talk to you later.”

And then the line goes dead.

4.

“You going somewhere?” Minho asks as soon as he enters Changbin’s dorm to him packing his things into his duffle bag. Changbin takes a quick glance at Minho and resumes with his packing.

“Yeah. Most of my classes have been cancelled this week so I’m going home for a few days,” Changbin explains. After that phone call with Jisung 2 days ago, there’s a nagging feeling in Changbin’s mind and heart that makes him feel restless and unable to focus on doing his daily things. He knows the only way to make him feel at peace again is to go home and see Jisung with his own two eyes and ask him what’s wrong.

“Naww, who’s gonna eat lunch and dinner with me now!”

“Pshh,” Changbin rolls his eyes and zips his bag closed. “Chan and Woojin will still be around. Go bother them instead.”

“They’re no fun to bother. Unlike you,” Minho grins, reaching for Changbin’s chin with his fingers to tickle it.

“Hey!” Changbin huffs and swats Minho’s hand away, gaining a high pitched laughter from the older guy. “You know what you need to do? You need to stop bullying me, that’s what.”

“This isn’t bullying, Binnie Binnie.” Changbin blushes at the nickname and looks away so Minho doesn’t see the redness tinting his cheeks. “I’m just teasing you. It’s normal to tease someone you like.”

“W-What?” Changbin mentally punches himself for stuttering. Did he hear and understand that right? Or is he imagining things again? “Says who?!”

“Who says what?” Minho’s grin turns wider, almost cat-like, full with mischief.

“Who says it’s normal to tease someone you like?” Changbin says. He feels his cheeks turn even warmer so decides to distract himself by putting his jacket on and then slipping the strap of his duffle bag onto his shoulder. “I’m sure you just like to tease me.”

“Maybe.” Minho grabs Changbin’s attention by grabbing the strap of his bag and turning him around so Changbin is looking directly at him. “Are you actually leaving today? Right now?”

“Uh, yeah? I have to catch a train since I don’t feel like driving. If I’m lucky, I might be able to show up at Jisung’s school on time and surprise him.”

“Jisung, huh?”

Changbin nods and feels his guts lurch uncomfortably in his stomach. He’s leaving to meet Jisung, to comfort him and cheer him up, but it seems like this trip in return would make the other friend sad. Changbin doesn’t like this feeling at all. “Maybe next time you can come with me and meet him. Really, it’ll be like meeting yourself,” he jokes.

Minho smiles at this but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Maybe,” is all he says. “Maybe.”

5.

Right after dropping his things at their house, Changbin makes his way to his former high school. There’s still half an hour until Jisung’s last class ends, and the school is only a few minutes away from where their families live so Changbin takes his time walking there.

The autumn breeze in October is cool and refreshing as they brush against his face, the colorful leaves a pleasing sight for his eyes. The fallen leaves scatter and fill the walk path, crunching against Changbin’s sneakers and there’s just something in the way it sounds that make Changbin feels oddly at peace. At least, it’s better to be accompanied by this sound rather than by the silence, where it’s easier to fall into his messy thoughts. He really doesn’t need that right now.

Before he knows it, Changbin’s arrived at the school. Checking his watch, there’s only 2 minutes left before the last bell ring. Changbin waits by the gate (where he used to wait for Jisung before), leaning his back against the brick wall as he watches few students leaving the school’s compound.

It takes another 5 minutes before Changbin’s ears catch the sound of familiar voices approaching the gate. Changbin leans further against the wall and watches as Seungmin and Hyunjin pass by, followed by Felix and then Jisung. They don’t seem to notice Changbin, but that’s okay. Relief washes over Changbin when he sees Jisung, and he can’t help smiling at the sight of his most favorite person in the whole wide world (shh, don’t tell Jisung that). Changbin pushes himself up from the wall and says “Yah, Han Jisung!”

Jisung whips his head around so fast at the sound of Changbin’s voice. There’s shock and disbelief on his face before they are replaced by happiness and delight. “Seo Changbin!” he shouts back, rushing to where Changbin is and leaping into Changbin’s open arms just because he can.

And because the force of Jisung colliding with Changbin is too strong, Changbin loses his balance so they end up stumbling on the ground. Changbin groans at first when his back meets the ground but then he laughs at Jisung not giving a single care about the people around them, only hugging Changbin tightly as they lay on the (dirty) pavement.

“You came back. I missed you,” Changbin hears Jisung say. His heart flutters at this, lips curled into a smile. Feeling Jisung in his arms again like this and hearing his voice, Changbin already feels at peace.

“I missed you, too.”

“Wow, you’d think they were separated at birth and only meeting again after 20 years when in fact, they’ve only not met each other for a month,” Seungmin comments in amusement. Hyunjin bursts out laughing in agreement while Felix only giggles with fondness dancing in his eyes as we watches Jisung and Changbin on the ground.

Jisung doesn’t care about what their friends have to say and neither does Changbin, not even when three phones are pointed their way and at least dozens of pictures were taken. It feels good to be back, to be with Jisung again. At that moment, that’s all that matters to Changbin.

Later that night, both Changbin and Jisung are seated in front of the fireplace in the Seo’s living room. The house is quiet as Changbin’s mother is working on night shift at the hospital, leaving them both alone with pizza and take outs for dinner.

The past couple of hours were spent at the arcade with Jisung, Hyunjin, Felix and Seungmin. They all had been busy trying to win against each other and having fun that Changbin hadn’t found the time to catch up on stuff with Jisung yet, until now.

“How’s school?” Changbin starts.

“Meh,” Jisung shrugs. His hand reaches out for the last slice of pizza, mouth wide open to catch the long stretch of cheese before taking a huge bite on the food. “But we’re surviving I guess.”

Changbin watches the sauce of the pizza staining the corners of Jisung’s mouth and shakes his head in disapproval, mixed with fondness. He looks for the napkin and when he finds it, Changbin smacks it against one corner of Jisung’s mouth and wipes it sideways to clean the mess. It’s a vain attempt seeing how Jisung stuffs the remaining pizza into his mouth and staining his lips again, almost on purpose. Changbin laughs and presses the napkin on Jisung’s mouth.

“You’re a mess!”

Jisung takes the napkin and cleans his mouth. “We been knew since day one,” he cooly accepts, chewing on the pizza and swallowing it. “Even more so after you left.”

“It’s only been, what, a month?” he jokes with a chuckle, but it dies down almost immediately at the look Jisung is giving him. There’s longing and sadness in his eyes, secrets untold and covered by the practiced smile on Jisung’s face.

“One month and nine days, actually. But who else is counting? Probably just me.”

“Hey,” Changbin moves closer on instinct, an arm finding its way around Jisung’s waist. The air is suddenly heavy and gloomy, and Changbin doesn’t like it one bit. “Sungie? You wanna tell me what’s wrong?” Changbin asks as he feels Jisung leaning on him.

Changbin can feel the hesitance in the way Jisung curls into himself, knees hugged close to his chest and nose buried on his folded arms. It makes Changbin... _sad._ He wants to know what’s wrong, wants to help- _wonders_ if he could help his friend. Jisung doesn’t say anything for a very long time and Changbin patiently waits, his hand rubbing on Jisung’s back in hope to give him some comfort.

“It’s stupid,” Jisung starts in a tiny voice. “For feeling this way. I’m stupid.”

“No, you’re not. And your feelings are valid. They’re not stupid. Tell me who made my Sungie sad? I’ll punch them in the face!”

Jisung laughs at this, just a little, but it’s something. Changbin is glad he can make Jisung laugh at least.

“The distance, I guess. Changes,” Jisung shrugs nonchalantly, like his words don’t weigh anything at all, when they obviously do, when they obviously affect him. “I don’t want to be clingy, Binnie but it’s just-. I’m just so used to us being together all the time and now that you’re far away, I can’t help feeling lost and sad and like...like I’m losing you.”

“Hey, you know that’s not true,” Changbin frowns. He shifts around so he could cup Jisung’s cheeks with his hands and make the younger guy look at him. “You’re not losing me. You won’t ever lose me. Distance might separate us physically, but when you need me, I’ll always be there for you.”

“But it feels like I’m already being replaced…”

“You know that’s impossible. No one can replace you.”

“Minhee is already replacing me!” Jisung blurts. Changbin’s jaw drops open in surprise, eyebrows knit together in confusion at the mention of the unfamiliar name.

“Minhee...?”

“You even said he’s so similar with me. Why would you need two Jisungs in your life? Minhee is nearer to you and can see you everyday and I feel like there’s no reason for you to keep me around any longer now that you have him.”

When Changbin finally realizes it’s _Minho_ Jisung is talking about, a laughter escapes his mouth. Jisung looks at Changbin in disbelief, and then gathers his things but Changbin quickly locks the younger guy in his embrace to prevent him from leaving.

“Let me go, you meanie!”

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry,” Changbin apologizes. “But first of all, his name is Minho. Not Minhee.”

“Whatever.”

“Second of all, my Sungie is jealous of Minho? Aww, let me look at this cutie, let meeee,” he tickles Jisung’s chin, a habit that’s rub off on him from Minho.

“You think this is funny??” Jisung struggles to break free.

“You’re not going anywhere!”

“Now you wanna kill and get rid of me by suffocating me?!”

“Shut up. You love it when I hug you.”

“Ughh. I hate you,” Jisung finally stops struggling and lets himself melts into Changbin’s hug.

“No. You love me,” Changbin quips. He doesn’t comment when Jisung tenses in his arms. “But seriously though. I know I said you and Minho are so similar in so many ways, but I also know you are two different people. If I lose one of you, the absence will be felt. Both of you are important people in my life.”

Changbin only receives a lazy grunt from Jisung, so he presses his hands on Jisung’s sides and tickles him without mercy.

“What the hell!” Jisung screams, followed by a burst of laughter filling the room. “Binnie, stop!”

“Not until you believe what I just said!”

“Okay, okay! I believe you!”

Changbin laughs but he takes mercy on Jisung and stops tickling him. This time, he presses all of his weight on Jisung and Jisung flops down on the floor from the sudden heavy weight on him. Jisung doesn’t complain though, so they stay in that position in silence for a while.

“Indeed, I’m an idiot for feeling like this. Sorry about that.”

“Hmmwell, it _is_ ridiculous,” Changbin teases. “But it’s cute too.”

“Shut up.”

“You irreplaceable, Jisung,” Changbin tells Jisung as he watches the orange flame in the fireplace. “You’ll always be my favorite, will always have a special place in my heart.”

“Yuck,” Jisung says, but there’s a smile in his voice and that’s enough. Changbin hopes Jisung knows just how much the younger mean to him.

6.

The next time Changbin sees Jisung is just right outside the building of his dorm.

Changbin is pleasantly surprised, and the fact that Jisung did not tell Changbin about him coming to Seoul can only mean that this visit is _meant_ to surprise him, and that only makes Changbin grin from ear to ear. His little Sungie planning a surprise visit for him? How cute! It’s an even better of a surprise for Changbin to see the person Jisung is talking so animatedly with is _the_ Minho.

“Han Jisung,” Changbin calls loudly seeing how neither Jisung nor Minho notices he’s arrived at the building because they were so immersed in whatever conversation they’re having. Jisung turns around with a grin on his face, which then changes to sudden realization of something before it morphs completely into his signature whiny face.

“Ahh, I wanted to surprise you!”

Changbin laughs and immediately wraps his arms around Jisung in a tight hug. His stress and exhaustion dissipate as the warmth from Jisung’s body melts into his, as his nose captures Jisung’s familiar scent wafting in the air around them. “You surprise me, alright,” Changbin says, pulling away to have a good look of Jisung. “And I see you’ve made a new friend here,” he gives a pointed look.

“Oh, right!” Jisung exclaims, just remembering they weren’t alone. “Right, yeah. This is- this is…” Jisung tilts his head at Minho, eyes narrowed unsurely at Minho staring back at him with a blank look. “I don’t think I’ve got your name, actually,” Jisung smiles sheepishly. Changbin finds this coincidence funny, how well Jisung seems to click with Minho and have no problem in conversing with the older guy at all, reminding Changbin so much of his first meeting with Minho where they did not exchange names until the very end of the conversation. Changbin did not mean to laugh, but he finds this all too amusing and so bursts out laughing anyway.

“What?” both Minho and Jisung ask at the same time.

“Nothing,” Changbin’s laughter fades into a knowing grin. He feels giddy with excitement, a funny feeling in his stomach. The good kind, though. “I knew you guys would go along well.” Minho quirks a small smile at this, while Jisung only looks at the older guys in confusion. His eyes light up in realization though, when Changbin says: “Jisung, this is Minho. Minho, this is Jisung. I’m glad you finally get to meet.”

  
  


“Isn’t he cute?” Changbin asks as soon as Jisung excuses himself to go to the toilet. All the three of them had somehow ended up at the ramen place few blocks away from campus. At first, Minho had been hesitant to join them under the excuse of not wanting to bother the two friends but Changbin managed to convince him to tag along by saying the shop is giving special discount for customers who bring two or more friends to dine in at the place for that week (which is, of course, a lie), so here they are now sitting in one of the booths, empty bowls and happy stomachs.

Minho leans forward so he could reach Changbin’s chin and tickle it. “Not as cute as my Binnie Binnie, though,” he says.

“Tch, hey!” Changbin pulls away from Minho. Now that Jisung is here in Seoul, the want for Jisung and Minho to get along well burns strongly in Changbin’s chest. If he doesn’t start this now, he won’t ever be able to find the perfect timing again. “I’m being serious right now.”

“So am I, though,” Minho smiles in amusement. Of what, Changbin doesn’t know. Changbin does know he’s blushing, though, but he’s going to pretend he doesn’t. “Jisung _is_ cute. He reminds me of a squirrel.”

“Right?” Changbin barks a laugh.

“But, I don’t know. I don’t think he likes me that much.”

“Nonsense! The last time I checked, you guys hit it off pretty good.”

“That was _before_ we knew who we were.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Changbin frowns. He wants to ask more but he sees Jisung approaching the booth again and at the same time Changbin’s phone rings so his attention is divided. Seeing Chaeyoung’s name-his partner for their latest project- flashing on the screen, Changbin answers the phone without second thoughts. Jisung takes his seat next to Changbin, but the latter is too busy speaking and confirming things with Chaeyoung on the phone to notice the awkward silence surrounding Jisung and Minho and the careful looks they’re throwing at each other.

“Well then, I guess I’ll just have to see and hear it myself,” Changbin says into the phone. “Give me 20 minutes and I’ll be there. The usual place? Alright, see you soon,” he ends the call and finally looks up, pocketing his phone into his jacket. He gives an apologetic look at Jisung and grabs his hand to give it a squeeze. “I have to go. There’s something I need to take care of immediately.”

“Already?” Jisung pouts. Changbin feels bad that he can’t hang out with Jisung more. After all, Jisung came here to visit Changbin and spend some time with him and now Changbin can’t at least send Jisung back home safely-

Wait. That just gives Changbin a sudden idea.

“Sorry, Sungie. We can hang out tomorrow? And properly celebrate you finishing your final exams together.”

“Okay. Sounds good,” Jisung gives a small smile. Now that Changbin is paying more attention, he’s noticing the exhaustion in the way Jisung’s shoulders are slumped down, the dark half circles under his eyes and how dimmed his eyes are. He definitely can’t let Jisung go home alone now, can he?

“Minho, why don’t you send Jisung home,” Changbin states instead of asking. “I don’t want him to go alone.”

“Uh, it’s fine. I can go alone,” Jisung is the first to try to dismiss Changbin’s suggestion. “The others are going to pick me up at the bus station and we’re walking back to Hyunjin’s brother’s house together.”

“Do you know which bus to take from here then?”

“Binnie, I can read perfectly fine. I’ll know which bus to take and which way to go.” Jisung sounds mildly annoyed. Changbin is determined to make Minho walk Jisung home, though, not only because he feels bad for not being able to do it himself and because he worries for the younger one, but also because he genuinely wants Jisung and Minho to spend some time alone together again and get along well with each other. He’s thankful when Minho quickly interjects with an “Okay, I can send Jisung off I guess.”

“Thanks, Minho. I know I can always count on you,” Changbin shots a finger gun at Minho as he makes Jisung stands up with him so he can get out of the booth. “Let me know when you arrive safely?”

“This is so unnecessary, I don’t want to bother your friend-”

“It’s okay, you’re not bothering me.”

“He said you’re not bothering him,” Changbin echoes, like Jisung didn’t hear it from Minho himself. “Text me. Or call. I’ll wait.” Changbin ruffles Jisung’s hair, gives Minho’s shoulder a squeeze and then he’s out of the place in no time, silently praying things will work out between Minho and Jisung.

7.

A few days later, Jisung finds him in the studio with Chaeyoung as they go over their music arrangement.

Jisung doesn’t look happy, if the frown of his eyebrows and the press of his lips aren’t a telling enough. One look at the younger guy and Chaeyoung knows he wanted them to be left alone, so the girl grabs her jacket and announces she’s going to have an hour break ( _no more and no less, get whatever this shit is sorted out immediately, you hear me?_ is what her eyes are saying).

“I know what you’re trying to do, Binnie,” Jisung starts, his frown deepening. Changbin dumbly blinks up at his friend, releases his grip on the mouse and turns his chair around to face Jisung. He hears the door opening and closing again, and briefly thinks that perhaps Chaeyoung’s forgotten her wallet or something, but Changbin is surprised to see it’s Minho entering the room and standing a few steps behind Jisung. Minho has his hands shoved in the pockets of his jacket with a serious look on his face. He doesn’t seem happy, either.

“What...what am I trying to do?” Changbin carefully asks. He doesn’t know what’s gotten them upset and doesn’t want to upset either of them even more.

“You’re setting us up!” Jisung half-shouts, the frustration bleeding into his tone. _Oh_ , Changbin thinks. “Half of the time when we hang out, you always bail on me and leave me with Minho.”

“What’s wrong with Minho? I thought you guys go along well?”

“It’s not-” Jisung pauses to take a deep breath in and exhales it out just as deep. “You _know_ how I feel about you. There’s no way you wouldn’t know and yet-” his voice quivers towards the end. Changbin wanted so much to get up and hug Jisung but he’s too shocked to even move his body.

“Jisung likes you,” Minho says after staying quiet for a while. “And _I_ like you, too. Honestly, it would have been okay if you don’t like either of us. It’ll sting, yes, but setting us up like this is not necessary. You should have been honest with us.”

“Wait, what?” Changbin panics at this. “No, no. This is a misunderstanding!”

“What do you mean?”

“Can we just-,” Changbin finally stands up from his chair. He has some explanation to do but he doesn’t really know what to say first. So, okay, maybe this whole idea was not very well thought of but he _really_ thought his plan would work out, that making Jisung and Minho spend some time together would perhaps make them like each other. Now that Changbin thinks about it again though, he realizes how stupid it is. Maybe, like what Minho said, Changbin should’ve just been honest with both Jisung and Minho.

So maybe he’s just going to do just that.

“Changbinnie?” Minho’s voice brings Changbin back into the conversation. Changbin has to shake his head to get rid of the lingering thoughts in his mind. His gaze flits from Jisung to Minho, and then to Jisung again.

Okay, screw it. Changbin’s definitely just going to be honest with them. “I...know you guys like me.”

“Then why did you set us up?” Jisung cuts in. He looks hurt and are those tears in his eyes? Oh no. He made his Jisung cry. Changbin quickly pulls Jisung into a hug, to which the younger doesn’t object to. If anything, Jisung only buries his nose on Changbin’s shoulder and hugs him back, while Minho watches with careful eyes. “You’re so mean. If you- if you don’t like me back-” Jisung can’t even finish his sentence. Changbin only tightens his arms around the younger guy.

“I’m so sorry, Sungie. I didn’t mean to make you upset. Please don’t cry. Let me explain myself.”

“Okay,” Jisung sniffles. “Explain yourself.”

“As I said, I kind of knew you guys like me and,” Changbin rubs his hand on Jisung’s back before pulling away. “And- and I like you guys too.”

“What?” Jisung and Minho ask at the same time.

“ _And_ ,” Changbin presses. “I just wanted you guys to spend some time together, to give each other a chance and that maybe, if you end up liking each other, I thought we could…” he trails off, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

“So we could…?” It’s Minho who’s encouraging Changbin to continue. Changbin is not looking at either of them because of how embarrassed he feels, but he thinks that’s a teasing tone he heard in Minho’s voice.

“So we could, maybe, date each other,” Changbin gathers the courage to say it and look up to see their reactions. Jisung looks confused, like he’s still trying to process what Changbin had just said to them, while Minho- that little shit- has a smug smile on his face. Minho definitely gets what Changbin’s on to quicker than Jisung does.

“So what you’re saying is,” Jisung starts slowly, head slightly tilted to the side, confusion still visible on his face. “You want to date us both…?”

“And for you to date Minho too, yes,” Changbin quickly adds.

“For me to date you and Minho,” Jisung repeats after him, realization dawning on him. “Like, a three-way relationship.”

“Three-way relationship.”

“Oh,” is what Jisung says at the confirmation. The pink tinting his cheeks does not go unnoticed by Changbin. Changbin feels hopeful at this, that maybe Jisung isn’t entirely against the idea, that maybe he’d _try_. Minho doesn’t look like he’s rejecting the idea either, which makes Changbin even more hopeful things would work out between them all.

Suddenly, Minho is laughing, his fingers tickling Changbin’s chin in an annoying, bad habit, but what’s even worse is that it’s something Changbin doesn’t really hate. Changbin looks at Minho with eyes widen in surprise, unsure of why the older guy is laughing.

“Why didn’t you tell us sooner?” Minho asks with a lingering laughter.

“I-. I don’t know,” Changbin says, because he really doesn’t.

“Are you okay with this?” Jisung directs his question at the eldest guy, whom only shrugs in return.

“I don’t mind. I’d like to try, actually. Me, with two cutie? How did I get so lucky?” Minho moves his fingers to tickle Jisung’s chin this time.

“H-Hey!” Jisung stutters. Instead of pushing Minho away, Jisung is the one pulling away, which seems like a good sign in Changbin’s eyes. The blush on Jisung’s cheeks turns a shade darker and there’s no way Changbin can hold the grin from appearing on his face.

“So, what do you think, Sungie?”

“Yeah, what do you think, _Sungie_?” Minho drapes his arm on Changbin’s shoulders as he looks at Jisung. “Dating two hot guys at the same time doesn’t seem like a bad idea, huh?”

Hearing that coming from Minho’s mouth, Changbin can’t pass the opportunity up so he says, “Oh, you think I’m hot?”

“Hot,” Minho points his hand at Changbin and nods. At Jisung, he says “hotter” and at himself, Minho unabashedly claims “hottest”. Changbin sputters in disbelief but immediately gets distracted from coming back with witty (read: offended) reply when he hears Jisung chuckling. Jisung is not looking at any of them but there’s a contemplative look in his eyes as he briefly gets lost in his thoughts. Both Changbin and Minho quieten down into mutual silence, watching Jisung and patiently waiting for the youngest to say something.

Changbin holds his breath in when Jisung shakes his head in determination to himself, not knowing what to expect from the younger one. This could work out or this could go wrong and go straight downhill, so no one can really blame Changbin from feeling a little scared when Jisung says: “I don’t know how to do this.”

“Is there a but?” Minho chimes in.

“Yes, there _is_ a but,” Jisung agrees, his hands finding each other in a nervous fiddle. “I don’t know how to do this but we can try? Go on a date and see how it’ll go from there…” he suggests.

“Sounds good to me,” Minho grins. Changbin releases the breath he’s holding and can’t help himself from grinning too. A smile slowly appears on Jisung’s face, shy and nervous, and when he reaches to hug Changbin, it’s Minho who leaps into Jisung’s arms, squishing the younger guy and gaining a yelp from him, which quickly turns into a loud laugh. The sight in front of him makes the butterflies flutter in his stomach, makes his heart feels warm with happiness and relief.

Changbin thinks none of this will be easy but they can work this out somehow, can figure things out together and it all will be worth it in the end. He knows it will.


End file.
